Improvement in box-nailing machines



4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. W. SWAN. Box-NAILING MACHINE.

Patented Augnl, 1876.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

v G. W. SWAN.

BOX-NAILNG MACHINE. 0.180,503. Patented Aug.,1,1876.

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tnesses nvell ur N. PETERS. PHOTD-UTHORAFNER, WASHINGTON. D (A4Sheets-Sheet3. G. W. SWAN.

BOX-N AILING' MAGIHN'E. No. 180,503. v Patented Aug.`1,1876.

Witnesses Inv 111:011 /Qmw @mW- ILPETES. PHDTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTOND C 4Sheets-PSheet4.- G. W. SWAN.

BOX-NAILlNG MACHINE.

N,130,503 Patented Aug.1,1a7a.

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l L L Y 'L M nv ultor @mf Witnesses RFEF-RS. PHCTQ-ILITHOGRAPHER,WASHINGTOI. D CA UNITED STATES 5 A'Prrraiv'if Ormea.

GEORGE W; SWAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.-

IMPROVEMENT IN BOX-NAILING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 180,503., dated August1, 1876; application filed May 9, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE W. SWAN, of'

the art or science to which'it most nearly appertains to make and use mysaid inven tion without further invention or experiment.`

My invention relates to certain improvements in that class of machineswhich are einployed to nail together the parts of boxes, and the detailswill be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings,

in whiehd Figure 1, Sheet .1, is a perspective view of my machine. Fig.2, Sheet 2, is a vertical section taken through a2, Fig. 3. Fig. 3,Sheet 42, is a vertical section taken through b2,

* Fig. 2./ Fig. 4, Sheet 3, is a top view. Fig. 5,

Sheet 3, is a horizontal section taken through c2, Fig. 2. Fig. 6,-Sheet 4, is an enlarged view. of the transverse slide. Fig. 7 is a viewof the feeders. Fig. 8 shows rod w, &c.

A is a frame, supporting the various parts of the mechanism. B is thetable upon which the parts of the box to be nailed are laid. and thistablemoves up and down upon guides C upon the frame A, both for thepurpose of primary adjustment, to fit or place it in position for anysizeof work to be done, and also to raise the parts of the box up,automatically, to the stationary cross-bar D, where the nails are drivenout from the nail-holders into the box by the vertically-moving punches.

The adjustment of the table is made by means of vertical screws E, whichare operated from a horizontal shaft, F, by means of v gear-wheels andpinions GH, one at each side of the machine, and the automatic movementof the table for the purpose of nailing each box -is also effected bythe screws E, the shaft F being turned alternately. in one direct-ionand the other by pulleys I and J, which are driven in oppositedirections by' means of straight and crossed belts from pulleys l' Jupon the main driving-shaft K.

Friction-clutches L andY M, secured to the ,shal'tlh are alternatelythrown into contact with the pulleys'Iand J, so that, by the alternaterevolutions of the shaft F in opposite directions, it will act to raiseand lower the table B by the action of the screws E. The clutches L andM are operated by clutch-levers'N N, which have their lower ends hingedto horizontal shafts 5 and lever-arms O O, projecting at right angles,so as in effect to form `b'ell-crank levers, are operated upon at theproper time by connectingrods P l? from the cams Q Q. These cams ar-esecured to a shaft,

It, which receives motion from the main driving-shaft K by means of aspur-wheel and pinions S S', as shown.

The nail-holders T are supported upon the stationary bar D at suitablevintervals, being adjustable by screws, and the driving-punches U, alsoadjustable, are secured in aline above these holders tol a cross-head,V, which slides in vertical guides upon the upper part ot' the frame A,and is operated by connecting-rods W' from cranks X upon the ends of thecamshaft R.

The nail-holders T have conical holes, wider lat the top than at thebottom, so that a nail falling into one ot' them will be held in thesmall lower part of the nail-holder until the punch strikesit. Theholder is made in two parts, held together by springs, and will thusreadily allow the nail to be forced out into the box when the punchstrikes it.

. The nailsare irst placed in slightly-inclined V-shaped troughs Y attheupper back part ot the frame, as shown, and the front ends of' thesetroughs are supported upon a transverse bar, Z, which is pushed in onedirection by a cam-wheel, a, and is returned after the cam passes by aspring, b, thus giving a little shock, W h ich causes the nails to moveslowly down the troughs until they fall upon the inclines c, whichconsist of two parallel -plates placed near enough together to allow thenails to swing between them and be held by the head. These plates c areplaced between two outside plates, d, which guide them, and they aremoved longitudinally by means ot' eccentrics upon a shaft, e, so as tocontinually feed the nails forward as they hang suspended in the slots.

'lransversely through the plates d, and just beyond the lower end ot'the feeders c, a bar,

f, passes, and this bar has an arm or frictionroller, g, projecting atone side, so that when the cross-head V rises and falls the arm g willenter an inclined slot, h, upon the crosshead, and by the action of theslot the barj" will be caused to move a short distance to the right andleft at each movement ot' the crossshead. Thisbarhasa.diagonally-inchnedslot, i, made vertically through it, where it passes cach ot' the'feeders. and when the bar is moved in one direction the upper open endof this slot is brought opposite the space between the feeders, thusallowingl one nail to move down into the inclined slot. r)Che reversemovement of the bar j forces the nail forward down the inclined slot,still supported -by its'head, until at the lower end the space isenlarged, so that the n'ail can drop into the spout j and pass directlyto the nail-holder T. The barf is made in two parts, and a projection,el', trom the lower part forms one side ol'A the inclined slot fi, sothat by sliding` these `parts ot' the bar upon each other the size of'the slot can bc adjusted to receive any size ol' nail. The parallel.plates` c can also be adjusted to or from each other by screws, so thatit is only a momentary work to adjust the apparatus for any kind ofnails. A slide is titted upon theside ot' the plates d, having a strap,7s, which crosses the top ot' the plate. y moving this slide up thestra-p 7i: will stop the nails in anyone or more ot' the feeders, andthis will be necessary when small boxes are to b'e tinished. Thedistance between the nail holders ll and between the drivingpunches U ismade adjustable by screws, as bel'ore mentioned, for the samev reason.The cam-wheela, which operates the shaking-bar z, and the eccentricshaft e, which moves the feeders c, are driven by belts from a pulley atI upon the main shaft, either directly or by means ot' intermediatepulleys.

In order to hold the clutches L or M in c0ntact with their pulleys I 01J, so that they shall held in position by guides p a-nd the adjustablevertical back q. The foot of the operator is then placed upon a treadle,(not showin) which throws a clutch into contact with the driving-pulley,(also not shown,) but which takes the place et' the crank R upon themain shatt K. As soon as the shaft begins to turn the cam .Q operates tothrow the clutch L into contact with the pulley I, and this turns thevertical screws E, so as-to elevate the table until the upper part ot'the box strikes the arm t, which is hinged at one. end to the cross-barD, so that the opposite end hangs a littlcvbelow it. A projectionextending backward from the arm t stands just beneath the spring-latchm, so that, when the arm t is raised by the contact ot' the box, thelatch m will be raised, and the lever a will be released, lhns allowingthe clutch L to move out ot' contact with'the pulley l, this beingeffected by a spring. The screws E stop turning and the table remainsstationary until the punches have been Jt'orced down by the cross-headV,thns driving the nails which are Vin the nail-holders T, after whichthe punches and crosshead move upward again by the continued action ot'the cranks X. upon the connecting-rods YV. rthe cam Q then' yacts tothrow the clutch M into contact with the pulley J, the reversed belt ot'which causes the shat't t0 turn in the opposite directiol'i', and thusoperate the screws E to depress the table until a projecting` arm, a,strikes an adjustable nnt, c, upon the rod Aw. This rod draws down oneend of a lever, a', and the opposite endl releases the lever n blil'tiiw the s nine-catch m when the actu-V ating-spring throws theclutch M out of contact with the pulley J, and the table remainsstationary until the parts ot' another box are placed in position, andthe cam Q again acts upon the clntchli, as above described. The back q,against which the parts are placed, is adjusted by screws, so that thenails will be driven into the middle, whatever the thickness ot' thepieces, andthe movement up and down of the table is made suilicient forthe work to be done, (usually about three inches) After the box isinished and it is desired to put the cover on by driving the nails partway down7 the bar t is adjusted, so as to release the clutch L and stopthe table a little lower down.' The cover-nails will then be found toproject enough to be readily withdrawn when the box is needed for use,and will retain the cover in place until that time. readily adjusted tonail boxes -ot' any size by attaching a crank, z, to the end of theshaft F, and when both clutches are disengaged the crank can be turned,and the vertical screws E will elevate or depress the table to any pointwithin the limit oln the machine. 1t will readily be seen that thegreatest ditterences in size will not att'ect the automatic action ofthemachine, as the striking ot' the boxv against the arm t below thestationary bar D always throws out the clutch, which raises the table,and the adj nstment ot the nut con the rod w limits the descent ofthetable, the space traveled over while working being, as beforedescribed, sulicient for any thickness ot'lumber or length of nail.

In order to insurethe proper position ofthe nails when they t'all intothe feeders c c, the receiviiig-troughs Y are made, as above described,Vshaped, so that when the nails are put in at random the gradual shakingand moving them forward will canse them all to lie diagonally, whetherthe head or point be toward the mouth ot' the trough, and when they fallbetween the plates c c they will all hang in the same position-that is,with their The table is 180.503 I 'A e wedge shaped sideslongitudinallyin the space between the feeders. They are held in thisposition until they are carried by the slotted bar f into the spouts j,which, being steeply inclined and having dat bottoms, will retain thenails still in the same position until they fall into the nail-holders.These, as before described, are funnel-shaped and made in two parts, andthey serve only to hold the nails until they are driven by the punches.

In forming the vertical diagonal slots t' in the transversely movingbars f, it will be found necessary to make the upper acute angle of theslot (which acts as a cut-oft' for each nail as it is received) in theform of a yielding spring, because bad nails, or those of differentsizes, are often found in any lot which may be used, and when one ofthese gets in front of any one of the points of the slots fi it willstop the whole bar unless such a provision is made.

By making9 these angles separate and mounting them upon springs, it willbe seen that if one of them comes in contact witha bad nail the bar willmove on, and the others will all feed properly.;

In my machine I have shown. a method of relieving thebar f if any suchobstruction occurs, which consists in making one side of the 4slot orguide h of the cross-head V elastic, so that it will give and allow thebar to stop for obstructions.

I am aware that a patent has been heretofore granted for certainimprovements in machines for nailing ho'xes, in which are claimed diesor nail holders, having a gradually-widening groove or slot, andguiding` the nails in a certain position, and also a toothed or tingeredroller for taking the nails from a box and delivering them into dieholders and con,- ductors. I do not therefore claim these devices, norbroadly a machine for nailing boxes.

I am also aware that nails have heretofore been fed to box -nailingmachines by means of a slottedfeeder given a reciprocating movement;hence I do not claim this broadly; but

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The table B, moving upon vertical guides C, and operated, both forprimary adjustment and automatically to raise and lower the parts to benailed, by means of the screws E, which are turned alternately inopposite directions by mechanism, substantially as herein described. y2. The shaft F, with its pulleys I and J, turning in oppositedirections,-as shown, and the clutches L and M, with their levers N,connecting-rods P, and cams Q, Q', for driving the shaft F, and throughit the screws E, alternately in opposite directions, substantially asherein described.

stantially as herein described.

4. The arm t, loosely attached to the crossbar l), and having an armextending beneath the latch m, so that when the table raises the box orother article until it stri kes the arm, the latch m will be lifted, andtheclutch L will be automatically thrown out of contact with the pulley,substantially as described.

5. The rod w, with its adjustable nut o, and the lever a" beneath thelatch m', in combination with an arm from the table B, .so that thedescent ofthe table will release the clutch M and arrest 'the descent ofthe table, substantially as herein described.

6. The plates d, shaft e. and cam Q, in combination with the interiorplate c, working in slots 3 on guides 4, as and for the purposedescribed.

7. 'lhe barf, having the'diagonally-inclined vertical slots i opposite.to each feeder, as shown, and provided with an arm, g, in combinationwith the incline h upon the crosshead V, for the purpose of moving theslots t' across the front of the feeders, so that they will each receiveone nail ateach movement, and deliver it to the discharge-spout,substantially as herein described.

8. The bar f, made in two parts,the lower parthaving a projection, i',which forms onev as to receive the nails in any position and de liverthem into the nail-holders T in the proper position to be driven,substantially as herein described.

1l. 'Ihe inclined guiding-slot h. upon the cross-head V, for operatingthe bar j', having one side made elastic for relieving the strain if thebar should be stopped in its movements,

substantially as herein described.

GEO. W. SWAN.

Witnesses Geo. H. STRONG, CEAS. G. PAGE.

